Pop quiz

Students in the Carthage College polymer studio class on PolymerClayDaily

Take a look at some of the questions posed on Tumblr that these college students answer in their class sketchbooks.

The college-level studio class in polymer clay is taught by Diane Levesque, Associate Professor of Art at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Students learn color theory, create a repertoire of textures and patterns and develop compositional strategies to make a variety of polymer and mixed media objects.

The class uses Lindly and Maggie’s Polymer Clay Color Inspirations: Techniques and Jewelry Projects for Creating Successful Palettes as the textbook. “The book is now out of print which is challenging,” says Diane.

I felt a mixture of pride and jealousy at those fresh faces tackling the exercises. Where will they take our art form?

Hats off to Diane and a whole bunch of artists who worked to get a college-level polymer class launched several years ago. How could we help the class continue and spread it to other art schools?

Theory meets reality

Sue Wartell's student piece from a Lindly Haunani master class on PolymerClayDaily

Our master class with Lindly Haunani exhilarated us to exhaustion. She wraps color theory and head-slapping tricks and her years of experience into a two-day blitz of information and exercises.

This piece from Ohio’s Sue Wartell is a lovely one of many examples created by students in the last couple hours of class. But more importantly, we understood the how and why of what we were doing. It’s no wonder that many students in the class were back for a second time. Learning from a polymer master is a heady experience.

My poor brain needs a well-earned rest.